There are a number of health drinks in the market containing probiotics and/or prebiotics. Virtually all major brands of commercial milk products have at least one milk product enriched with probiotics and/or prebiotics such as Danone DanActive™, Astro Biobest Maximmunité™ and Natrel Pro™. Generally speaking the market for probiotics has two parts: (1) food products (especially food products requiring refrigeration) and (2) supplements. There are generally two categories of the mentioned food products: (A) dairy culture based products such as yogourts, and (B) food products with a lactic ferment base other than those based on a dairy culture. Dairy culture based products according to category (A) include solid food products (such as BULGARIA YOGURT™ or LG21™ of Meiji Dairier, or CASPIAN SEA YOGURT™ of Fujicco Co.) and liquid food products such as liquid yogurt products. Food products with a lactic ferment base other than those based on a dairy culture according to category (B) include drinks based on lactic bacteria from milk such as YAKULT™ marketed by Yakult Honsha; drinks based on other forms of lactic bacteria such as LABRE™ marketed by Kagome; and other products based on lactic ferment such as soy milk yogurt marketed by Spyafarm. The supplements generally include tablets (such as BIFINA™ brand products marketed by Morishita-Jinta) and liquids such as lactic bacteria from algae.
Natural spring waters and fruit juices are sold in pure form or flavoured with some enrichment minerals and/or vitamins. However, none are enriched with probiotics and/or prebiotics, mainly because the chemical composition of the water source does not support this type of enrichment.
The neutral pH of milk, its fat and protein content are the elements that provide a protective effect and allow the probiotic action in the gastro-intestinal system. The acidity of fruit juice does not allow for the inoculation and the survival of probiotics.
It is known that maple sap is a source of naturally distilled, pure water. It is also known in the art that the water found in sap may be removed, for example, during the production of maple syrup in order to market and sell the water as non-carbonated, “pure and natural distilled and condensed Maple Steam” (for example, available as VERMONT MAPLE WATER™ from Vermont Maple Water, Inc., East Arlington, Vt. 05252).
Canadian patent application No. 2,594,937 ('937 application) discloses the use of maple sap as a medium in a bioreactor to grow probiotics under continuous agitation at 37° C. and in the presence of a substrate rich in nitrogen, such as soy drink. The '937 application does not suggest or teach the use of pure, non-supplemented sap, maple concentrate, maple syrup or diluted maple syrup in a composition as a delivery vehicle for probiotics, prebiotics or a combination thereof.
Using maple sap, maple concentrate, maple syrup or diluted maple syrup in a functional drink as a delivery vehicle for probiotics and/or prebiotics present a number challenges that are not solved by the prior art, namely: (1) to ensure the survival of probiotic strains inoculated in the sap, maple concentrate, maple syrup or diluted maple syrup; (2) to select commercial probiotic strains that are resistant to environment; (3) to inoculate sufficient quantity of probiotic strains in the composition to maintain a good survival rate and maintain the organoleptic characteristics and the environment; (4) to produce a product with a reasonable shelf-life and (5) to maintain a good survival rate of probiotics in the gastrointestinal (stomach and small intestine) system of the subject ingesting the symbiotic composition. Several factors in the gastrointestinal system such as bile salts, enzymes, pH and temperature decrease and even go so far as to inhibit the action of probiotics. It is an object of this invention to overcome these challenges.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a drink that provides health benefits. Until the invention presented herein, the enrichment of maple sap, maple concentrate, maple syrup or diluted maple syrup with prebiotics and probiotics was never implemented.